Coffin Island by Will Berkeley

a human even on a theoretical platform. How revolting. It helps
explain why slaves are prone to revolt. They find the situation
revolting. I was going to revolt with appalling violence. That was
the handle on Doctor Fast.
    However Doctor Fast kind of took the
wind out of the sails. The silver hull looked like a scalpel
floating on the ocean. The mast looked like a needle piercing the
sky. The sails looked like a shroud for the wind. Doctor Fast
appeared like it was constructed to perform medical experiments on
the wind.
    I could see why The Wind People were
taking offense to this craft. It was an affront to the wind on top
of its base insults to its enslaved passengers. Clearly you can’t
win all the races on the emerald ocean. You’re bound to upset the
wind with your total arrogance even if it’s been earned somehow.
Perhaps it was just thieved as the footnote on the back of the ship
suggested. How do you like your slave ship thus far? Let’s just say
that I was a bit miffed all around. I tugged my shackles and cursed
witchcraft.
    I was going to sail this ship in
shackles though. There wasn’t a force great enough to stop me. It
was just going to have to kill me. That was the chilly vibe on the
deck of Dr. Fast.
    Welcome aboard mate. I’m going to sail
this ship right down to hell. Or die trying. I don’t care that it’s
a slave ship or that I’m a slave on it. We’re sailing the hell out
of here.
    Madison had somehow wrenched the sails
from The Wind People. The weather was suddenly disturbing still.
What happened to the storm? Did someone just pull the plug on it
again? Was this something to be concerned about? Was this just yet
another lull in the storm before the typhoon?
    The sails were truly monstrous. I was
doing a bit of the old boasting back there to get my courage up.
However the sails were beginning to frighten me a bit because of
their sheer enormity. I was going to sail on this? I don’t know if
I am ready for this.
    I suppose the shackles were like a type
of safety precaution. They were just a necessary caution for the
safety of the passengers a bit like handcuffs. They’re just on you
for your own safety and the safety of others. Although in this
instance we don’t know who the others are because it isn’t going to
reveal itself.
    Dr. Fast was truly horrific. There were
chains everywhere. And they were moving around like snakes. There
was also all that screaming below deck. Only a demon could have
created it. What to make of a demon with a death wish. Aren’t you
supposed to want to live, demon? Why do you want to die again? Or
is it my soul that you’re after? That’s the ticket right there.
We’ll just savor the thought that something thinks highly enough of
your soul to want to steal it. That’s a good soul you’ve got. We
aim to pluck it out.
    However the remaining stitches were
cheerily rigging the ship. They were singing sea shanties while
they worked. The stitches were so stupid that they were apparently
below the purview of the shackles. Maybe the sails weren’t that bad
after all. They were gentle giants. They weren’t going to take you
on the sail of your life from which there is no retrieval. Those
sails are nothing to worry about. If the idiots are content what
have you got to worry about? They’re only rigging your ship. It’s
only your survival that they’re in charge of. What’s the big
deal?
     
    Chapter
     
    The stitches also didn’t seem to notice
that most of their rank had been thrown into the emerald ocean by
The Wind People. They hadn’t noticed that most of their rank had
been devoured by primordial sharks with toothy digestive tracks
either. Nobody was doing anything to save the pirates that were
still in the emerald ocean including me. This did not alarm me. I
actually found myself enjoying all the gore now that I was at a
safe distance up on the poop deck in shackles. You’ve got to keep
all that blood and guts just beyond your doorstep. That war